All patients consecutively referred with the first episode of transient and short-lasting loss of consciousness will have a diagnostic workup for the assessment of the most common causes of syncope, and will be evaluated for the presence of pulmonary embolism (PE) with the use of an internationally accepted algorithm including a pre-test clinical probability (PTP according to the method of Wells et al.) and a high-sensitivity quantitative D-dimer assay. If the PTP is low and D-dimer negative, PE will be excluded. All other patients will undergo confirmatory diagnostic tests (either computerized tomography or ventilation/perfusion lung scanning) in order to confirm or rule out the presence of PE.

To assess the prevalence of PE in a large series of consecutive patients presenting with the first episode of syncope [ Time Frame: Up to 48 hours after hospital admission ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

Secondary Outcome Measures:

To assess the prevalence of pulmonary embolism in patients with apparently unexplained syncope [ Time Frame: Up to one week after hospital admission ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

Other Outcome Measures:

To assess the prevalence of pulmonary embolism in patients with syncope with a high pre-test probability of PE and/or a positive D-dimer [ Time Frame: Up to 48 hours after admission ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

Other: Lung CT or V/Q scanning in patients with a high pre-test clinical probability of PE and/or a positive D-dimer

Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:

18 Years and older

Genders Eligible for Study:

Both

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

No

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

first episode of syncope

Exclusion Criteria:

previous episodes of syncope

ongoing anticoagulation

age younger than 18 years

pregnancy

Contacts and Locations

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To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below.
For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01797289